Pant leg pressing machine



1960 T. w. CARSKADON, SR 2,949,688

PANT LEG PRESSING MACHINE Filed 001;. 4, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORT W CARS KADON &\

Aug. 23, 1960 T. w. CARSKADON, SR

PANT LEG PRESSING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001:. 4, 1957 1960 T.w. CARSKADON, SR 2,949,688

PANT LEG PRESSING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 4, 1957 FIG. 12

INVENTOR T w. CARSKADQN FIG. 10

ATTORNEY PANT LEG PRESSIN G MACHINE Thomas W. Carskadon, Sr., Columbus,Ohio Filed Oct. 4, 1957, S61. N0. 688,197

4 Claims. (CI. 38-22) This invention relates to wearing apparel, to thecare and maintenance of the same in a manner that it will be in freshand attractive condition ready to be worn at all times, and particularlyto the care of mens suits, or portions thereof such as the legs of thetrousers or pants.

The invention is concerned principally with the pressing of the legcovering portions of trousers or pants and to the equipment employed insuch pressing operation in order to press commerically or in substantialvolume profitably and in a manner to give the articles pressed theproper appearance.

It has been customary to press trousers or pants in various ways, forexample, with flat irons, steam irons, utility presses and the like, butthese have become unsatisfactory because of their excessive weight,large size, clumsiness, inefficiency in operation, as well as the amountof time required and the necessity for skilled labor in their operationand the rising costs of both labor and material.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the problems enumerated andto provide equipment by which the pressing of the legs of trousers orpants can be accomplished with minimum effort, in a minimum time, byunskilled labor, and at lower cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple andinexpensive pants press by which an increased volume of work can beaccomplished with greater safety and less exposure to heat or otherdiscomfort, by unskilled labor and with greater precision andsatisfaction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter which can be readily loaded and unloaded, which can be causedto automatically or manually press trousers or pants properly without adouble crease or other undesirable impression or condition, and withminimum attention other than the loading and unloading of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pants press includinga pressing head and an endless conveyor with individual carriage unitswhich move, step-by-step, in a fixed path respectively to loading,pressing, drying and cooling, and removal stations where they can beloaded, pressed, cool-dried and subsequently, removed or unloaded, withthe operation continuous, as well as a pants press which willsatisfactorily and thoroughly perform the functions for which designedand thereby satisfy the requirements of the trade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a press having anendless conveyor, with loading and unloading stations where pants can beplaced upon and removed from the conveyor with such loading andunloading stations sufficiently removed from the head to avoid exposureof the operator to excessive heat and with the machine so equipped thatit can be operated manually or automatically.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in con junction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

2,949,688 Patented Aug. 23, 1960 Fig. 1 is a side-elevation illustratingone application of the invention;

Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3, a longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4, an enlarged detail of the indexing ordriving mechanism;

Fig. 5, a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 5A, a section on the line 5A5A of Fig. 5;

Fig. 6, a vertical section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7, a schematic diagram illustrating the path of travel of thesteam;

Fig. 8, a perspective of the pressing machine of the present inventionviewed from one end thereof;

Fig. 9, a top plan view of the pressing head with parts removed;

Fig. 10, a side elevation or edge view of the head of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11, a top plan view of the traveling lower carrier or cooperatingpresser member; and

. Fig. 12, a side or edge elevation of the carrier of Fig. 11.

Briefly stated the invention contemplates the pressing of a pair ofdiverging trouser legs simultaneously by means of a pair of upper pressheads and a cooperating pair of lower carrier or press members. Theupper press heads are mounted for vertical reciprocation and aresupplied with heating medium While each of the lower carriers or pressheads is connected to a roller in an endless track forming a channel.Movement is produced by means of an endless chain mounted on sprocketsand driven or moved step by step by a pneumatic cylinder and piston.

The lower cooperating carriers or lower supporting members preferablyare spaced along the track uniformly and are adapted to be brought oneby one beneath the press head. Due totheir spacing, when one of thesupporting carriers is beneath the press head, the others are spaced farenough away that they may be approached by an operator without suchoperator being exposed to excessive heat. For convenience a station twosteps away from the presser head on the approach side may be a loadingstation and another two steps away on the departure side may be anunloading station with a cooling and drying station midway between thepressing station and the removal station.

Movement of the conveyor may be done by a driving or indexing mechanismin the form of a reciprocable driving member such as a piston, thestroke of which corresponds to the distance between the. pressing anddrying stations which is one-half the distance each between the loadingand pressing stations and the pressing and unloading stations. With eachstroke of the piston, the conveyor is moved one step causing thesupporting members or carriers to travel from the pressing station tothe drying station and on the next stroke to the unloading station.

With continued reference to the drawings, the present invention is apants or trouser leg presser comprising a slightly inclined pair ofpress heads it covered by a cloth or similar material, disposed end toend and carried on the lower ends of pistons 11 which are operated bypressure means. The pressure means are carried in housing 13, mounted ona cross-frame 14 on legs or posts 15 and reinforced by braces 16, withthe posts resting on. a brace 17.

The press head 19, the temperature of which is controlled in accordancewith the material pressed, is vertically movable to engage the uppersurface of the trouser or pants leg and in order to provide cooperativemeans for the complete pressing operation, a series of pairs of clothcovered cooperative carrying members 18 are pro- :of supports and 21,near its opposite ends, with the support 20 carrying the rollers 22'located in a channel .member 23 forming a track of generally oval-shapeand providing an endless path in which the roller 22 can move. Thesupports 21 likewise carry rollers which are mounted in track 24.

The tracks 23 and 24 are mounted on frames 25 and 26 respectively andthe frames 25 are fastened together by connecting members or plates 27,while the frames 26 aresupported by L-shaped legs 28. A protectiveshield 29 is provided for each side of the machine.

In order to produce a machine on which multiple articles may be handled,a series of pairs of such carrier -members 18 are provided and thesupports 20, on which one end of such carrier members are mounted, arejoined .by a connection 30 to an endless conveyor 31 which may be in theform of a chain or corresponding structure. The

- conveyor chain 31 is mounted on a trio of sprockets 32 at each end ofthe machine on supports 33 connected by cross-members 34 and 35 which,in turn, are attached to .frame members 25 and 26.

With the construction described, the carrier members may be broughtbeneath the press heads one pair at a time, to perform the pressingoperation. The carriers each are connected to the conveyor chains 31 inuniformly .spaced relation in order that the operation may be carried onstep-by-step in properly timed relation. The con- -veyors remain idlewhile the pressing operation is being accomplished and simultaneousloading and unloading of the carriers is being performed, and also withthe structure providing for the drying and cooling of the trousers atthe next pause after they have been pressed.

Means is provided for moving each conveyor with the carriers connectedthereto in two steps or movements be- .tween loading and pressing andbetween pressing and unloading and with a drying and cooling stationmid-way between the pressing and the unloading station, but consequentlyonly one step from each.

In order to move the carrier members 18 as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 5Athere is provided a pneumatic cylinder 36, having a piston rod 37 with aflattened end portion 38 encircling a pin 39. The ends of the pin 39 areprovided with rollers 40 movably located in parallel .tracks 41supported by brackets 42, attached to tracks The flattened end portion38 of the piston rod 37 is provided with a slightly inclined end surface38. The

, end portion 38 is connected by means of a pivot 40', to a pair of legsattached to a push plate 41 which abuts the inclined surface 38' in sucha manner that, when the piston is forced outwardly of its cylinder, theplate 41' will engage the rear edges of a pair of carriers 18 andthrough the conveyor chains 31 the other carriers of the conveyor. Onthe return stroke of the piston in its cylinder 36, the plate 41 willride over the next succeed- -ing pair of such carriers which have beenmoved by the chains 31 into the position formerly occupied by thecarriers which were pushed. The stroke of the piston is of I a lengthcorresponding to the distance between the pressing and drying stationsand approximately one-half the distance between the loading and pressingstations and 'the pressing and unloading stations.

In order to operate the piston 37 in the cylinder 36, a pair of airlines 43 and 44 are provided having connecltions at the opposite ends ofsuch cylinder. The other ends of the lines 43 and 44 are connected to aselector or j control valve 45, Figs. 3 and 4, under the influence of an4 electric actuator 46, receiving energy from a suitable power sourcethrough conductors 47.

In order to raise and lower the press heads 10 fluid is admitted to thecylinders 12 through lines 48 and selector valve 49 under the influenceof an electric activator 50, receiving energy from a source of supplythrough conductors 51. Fluid is alternately supplied through the lines48 and to the opposite ends of the cylinder 12 to raise and lower thepress head 10. A flexible by-pass line 52 is connected to a steamrelease valve mechanism for controlling the steam from the press head.This operation may be accomplished in various ways, as, for example, byan electrically controlled gate valve 53 receiving electrical energyfrom a source of supply through conductors 54. Such gate valve controlsthe flow of fluid through a connection 55 to one end of a cylinder 56,containing a piston 57 having a head 58 pivotally connected by a bellcrank lever 59 to a valve 60 which permits the escape of steam from thepresser head 10, a spring 61, serving to return the piston 57 to itsinitial position.

Steam is admitted to each of the press heads 10 through a flexible inletpipe 62 from a suitable source and a discharge pipe 63, at the lower endof the press head, is provided for the escape of condensed moisture. Thedischarge line 63 may be provided with a manually controlled valve 64which can be opened periodically to remove condensation. In operation,the press head 10 is forced downwardly against the carrier 18 until timeswitch 65 attached to frame 15, is engaged by a projection 66 carried bythe press head 10. Time switch 65 opens the gate valve 53 and fluid fromthe by-pass line 52 opens valve 60 to permit steam to escape from thepress head for a limited period after which the press head is elevateduntil it comes in contact with the time switch 67, which energizes theselector switch 46 which, in turn, operates control valve to move theconveyor another step. The flexible inlets 62 are supplied through acommon line 68 from a source of steam supply not shown. Steam passesthrough the press heads 10 then through a flexible return line 69 andsteam trap 70 back to the boiler or other source of supply through acommon line 71.

As disposed in Figs. 8 and 9, the press head is composed of an elongatedhollow member slightly narrower at one end and with a concave bottomsurface. The member is composed of upper and lower chambers 72 and 73.With an intermediate partition and the lower plate is provided withperforations 75 through which steam is discharged onto the trousersbeing pressed. Steam is maintained under pressure in the upper chamber72 until such time as valve 60 moves plunger 60 out of engagement withits seat and permits steam to be discharged into the lower chamber 73and out through the perforations 75.

The carrier member 18 is of similar configuration and is provided withsmall openings 76 for the circulation of steam and for the evacuation ofsteam between the .press head 10 and the lower cooperating carriermembers 18. Also, the carrier support is provided with avalve-controlled evacuating connection 77 for the reception of vacuumnozzles 78 which remove steam from the carrier members to dry and coolthe trousers after the pressing operation.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but onlyas indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for pressing both legs of a pair of trousers comprising asupport for the trousers having spaced leg supporting portions for eachleg of a pair of trousers, a conveyor carrying said trousers support,pressing means including a pressing head for cooperation with 94011supporting portion for pressing each leg of the pair of trousers againstits supporting portion, said conveyor providing means to move saidtrousers support relative to said pressing means whereby a pair oftrousers can be placed on said support without interference irom saidpresser means with the trousers legs overlying the support portions, andmeans to simultaneously move said presser heads toward the cooperatingsupport portion when the support portions and the trousers beingsupported thereon are in juxtaposition to said presser heads.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which the trousers support hasthe supporting portions in generally horizontal end to end relationspaced apart a distance to receive the body of the trousers between thesupport portions so such body of the trousers may hang down by gravitybetween said support portions while the trousers legs are supported onthe support portions whereby both legs may be pressed simultaneously.

3. The invention according to claim 1 in which the conveyor is made ofendless elements and the trouser supports are mounted on said endlesselements and the supporting portions are spaced apart a distance topermit the body of the trousers to hang down by gravity between saidsupport portions while the trousers legs are supported on the supportportions whereby both legs may be pressed simultaneously.

4. A machine for simultaneously pressing both legs of a pair of trouserscomprising a support for the trousers having spaced leg supportingportions for each leg of a pair of trousers, movable mounting meanscarrying said trousers support, pressing means including a pressing headfor cooperation with each supporting portion for pressing each leg ofthe pair of trousers against its supporting portion, said movablemounting means providing means to move said trousers support relative tosaid pressing means whereby a pair of trousers can be placed on saidsupport without interference from said presser means with the trouserslegs overlying the support portions, and means simultaneously to movesaid presser heads toward the cooperating support portion when thesupport portions and the trousers being supported thereon are injuxtaposition to said presser heads.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS865,263 Moe Sept. 3, 1907 1,721,316 Pribil July 16, 1929 1,851,467Tanner Mar. 29, 1932 1,896,518 Johnson Feb. 7, 1933 1,942,254 McGowanJan. 2, 1934 2,388,392 Davies Nov. 6, 1945 2,765,549 Binns et al. Oct.9, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 476,537 Canada. Aug. 28, 1951

